chapter.18  »  this kingdom you left.

Days passed.  The days became weeks until the weeks grew into months.  Long, excruciating and unbearable months of searching for the Lost Prince of Preriloth.  The kingdom had been doing everything they could to find him, but in all they did, they either failed or gave up too easily.

The queen fiercely pushed the grand doors of their private headquarters in the fourth front tower of the castle.  Tears were cascading down her porcelain face as she was followed by the king, all the more troubled as the queen was overcome with emotions.  She plopped herself on their four-post canopy bed, her face hidden away in her weak hands.

“My son, Nicolas... I need my son...” Queen Catherine Asthor of Preriloth sobbed helplessly in the front of her husband, King Nicolas Lee.

“I know, darling.  I know.”  King Nicolas sat next to her and rubbed her back softly, comforting her even more.

Catherine lifted her face out of her hands.  “H- Have you any news from the Royal Mail?  Or from the Finders?  You said you had them contacted to locate where Jinki is.”

A look of melancholy flashed across Nicolas's face.  He had had the Finders contacted, and he did receive messages from the Royal Mail messengers.  He, however, could not put into a simple picture the things he had received.  It was simply because he could not fathom any of them no matter how much he tried.

He kept his lips closed, then opened them dryly.  “I have, dear.  But the news are very... dull, and I'm not so sure how to put them all together, see—”

“It has been months, Nicolas.”  Catherine placed Nicolas's hand in hers, her other hand atop it.  Her face was smeared with tears.  “Please...  Tell me anything.  Anything at all.”

Nicolas sighed, giving in.  “The Royal Mail has informed me that the person that caused our son's disappearance is no other than the witch, or the goddess, that, before, only existed in the Under Earth's kingdoms' tales.  And the Finders...”

“Yes, darling?  What about the Finders?”  Catherine gulped.  She pushed aside the thought of a character from folk tales to be the cause of all the worrying she, her husband, neighboring kingdoms, and the Kingdom of Preriloth itself were going through.  Her eyes pleaded her husband for more information.

“The Finders...”  Nicolas gulped, and cleared his throat.  “The Finders said that...”

“Nicolas, please!”  Catherin broke down again, placing her soaked up face in her hands.  “I just want to know where our son is... That is all...”

Nicolas looked down, his eyes searching the floor for things unspecific.  He growled bitterly under his breath and looked back up.  Catherine deserved to know.  He closed his eyes for a tiny fraction of time, and hoped for the best.

“The Finders... All of them saw our son being taken to... Earth...”  The sternness of his voice disappeared.  “To On Earth.”

Catherine's eyes dilated, her red lips trembling and hands shaking.  “I- I'm not sure I follow, dear.  W- Where?”

Nicolas pulled his wife closer to him.  She was petrified, but he could feel her trying to get out of the trance she was in.  “It's difficult, I know, but we have to remember... Finders are never wrong.”

The next sounds that left Catherine's mouth were incoherent, and they soon evolved from stutters and babbles to painful, agonizing cries and sobs and yelps.  Her body became limp, her knees collapsing, and she fell to the ground, mourning her soul out.  How could it be possible that her son was On Earth?  How could it be possible at all to get him back?

As Nicolas joined Catherine on the ground, rubbing circles on her back, he pondered if he should tell her all the other news.  That Jinki had been cursed, and that a curse from the Witch would be the most powerful of all curses.  He parted his lips open, but closed it back again, considering the state Catherine was in.  If he told her, she would highly end up in the care of the Asylum, the only establishment in the middle of the forest behind the castle.

Suddenly, the Field Marshal of the Royal Army of Preriloth stormed into the private headquarters of the king and the queen.

“Your Highnesses.”  Lord Ernest Clarke bowed with respect in front of the king and the queen.

The king looked up and stood up rapidly, his voice booming all of a sudden.  “Lord Ernest Clarke, sir!  You know better than to enter our room without knocking!”

“I- I apologize, Your Highness—”  The Field Marshal stuttered, trying to regain himself.  

“This had better be important!”  The king roared grimly.  Queen Catherine brought herself up slowly, settling herself back on the bed.

Shouts from the courtyards outside and in the corridors of the castle echoed in the Royal Headquarters.  They were all frantic and nervous of something that neither of the Preriloth high leaders knew about.

The king had the idea.  He shook his head as his face turned slowly red in anger and worry combined.  “Oh, no.  No, not today.  No, please, Ernest—”

“I'm terribly sorry, Your Highness.”  Ernest neared the king and handed him a browned envelope, the crimson wax seal stamp on the envelope still a fresh glob.

Nicolas opened the envelope and hesitantly pulled out the parchment from it.  He looked back at Catherine who was busy looking down at the floor, before he read over what was written on the parchment.  It was his turn to shiver.

Ernest blinked.  “...King Nicolas?”

“I will be there... momentarily.  Just... keep everyone and everything aligned and safe in the meantime.”  Nicolas commanded.

The Field Marshal stepped backwards three times and bowed once more before marching quickly out of the room.  He closed the grand doors behind him and started ordering every single Royal Army person into doing exactly what the king had said to do.

Quietness took over that certain area of the building where the king and queen stayed plastered in their positions.  Nicolas turned, his shoes tapping the floor at each step he took.  He faced Catherine with a barren look on his face.

“What is it, darling?  Why did Ernest Clarke come?”  Catherine answered with the same look, her eyes glossy and face completely bedaubed with tears and saliva.

Nicolas gulped another time.  His heart pounded against his chest:  “The neigboring Kingdom of Kemwen has declared war against Preriloth.”

author's notes.

JEONJAENGIYA.  KEOBJAENGIYA~  yessssss, i included something from the kingdom!  i mean, we gotta have that, right?  we gotta know how they're doing.  and they're doing pretty bad, as you can see.  i feel like things are going by fast since we are now fast into time (as months have passed) and there's really not much of history for you guys to understand why Kemwen suddenly declared war against Preriloth.  i guess that will be in the next chapter?  hmm.  well, thank you guys for reading!  and suggest me things, too, i need it, heheh.  ^^

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